


Love in the Highlands

by WorryinglyInnocent



Category: Hamish MacBeth (TV), Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A Monthly Rumbelling, AU, F/M, Matchmaking, fusion/crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 10:15:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20044315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WorryinglyInnocent/pseuds/WorryinglyInnocent
Summary: In Lochdubh, Hamish acts as self-appointed matchmaker to newcomer Belle as she tries to make sense of her feelings for taciturn landlord Gold. Hamish Macbeth/Once Upon A Time fusion: rumbelle, bellish / Isobel&Belle broship.Written for the @a-monthly-rumbelling prompt: “AU: Fusion”





	Love in the Highlands

Small, isolated communities like Lochdubh were naturally suspicious of incomers, especially if they came from anywhere further afield than Glasgow and even more so if they came from the other side of the world entirely. Belle had been prepared for more than a few strange looks when she had first moved to town and started to work at the newly opened bookshop slash library slash local information office slash community centre slash back-up post office. 

Once she’d made it clear in a firm but friendly manner that she wasn’t going anywhere and that she was going to try and fit in with the local customs as much as possible, people started to be more accepting, and now the locals would smile at her in the pub and would only express incredulity that someone would ever want to move from somewhere like Australia to the middle of nowhere in the Scottish Highlands. 

There was only one person left in the town whom Belle had yet to win over, and, considering the way that the rest of the locals gave him a somewhat wide berth, she thought that this was something to be proud of.

Ciaran Gold was Belle’s landlord, and he owned the village antique shop; how he managed to stay in business in a place as small as Lochdubh was anyone’s guess and theories among the town varied wildly: from him being a vampire, to him being a mob boss, to him running an underground moonshine operation to rival Lachlan McCrae’s. 

He was also the most reticent and surly man that Belle had ever met, keeping to himself for the most part and barely ever leaving his dusty shop. He hardly spoke two words together to her when she ventured into his lair to bring him her rent, and although she would have loved to stay a while and browse the veritable Aladdin’s cave of treasures in the shop, she always received the impression that her presence was unwelcome, and he was shooing her out of the place with his aura alone. 

“He’s like that with everyone,” Hamish assured her when she was lamenting her lack of cordial relations with her landlord in the pub one evening. The local policeman and his girlfriend had welcomed her from the very first and it was largely due to Hamish and Isobel’s practical common sense that Belle’s popularity was increasing, and the library was gaining in foot traffic daily. (The fact she’d started bringing in cake probably helped as well.)

“But _why_?” Belle pressed. “No one’s naturally that miserable, something has to have happened to make him that way.”

Hamish made a face and pointedly changed the subject by announcing that he was going to get another round in. Belle waited until he was out of earshot and turned to Isobel. 

“There is a reason, isn’t there?”

Isobel nodded and leaned in over the table. 

“It’s a bit of a local gossip legend,” she said. “Gold left Lochdubh for the bright lights of Glasgow, married a city girl who then left him and took their wee son with her. He came back to Lochdubh a broken man. Hamish doesn’t like it talked about; Gold’s a cousin on his mother’s side and even if they’re not incredibly close, he’s still family.”

Now that Belle knew the connection, she could see the resemblance. Gold’s face was older and worn with life’s hardships, his hair greyer, but the familial traces were there. Isobel’s words had only served to make him seem even more mysterious in her eyes, and she wondered if perhaps she could be the one to bring him out of his shell of hurt…

X

Armed with the admittedly scant knowledge that she had gleaned from Isobel, Belle decided that she would take a different approach the next time she tackled Gold. She would simply refuse to be cowed by him. If he wanted to be left alone, then he shouldn’t have a shop open to the public. 

So, on the next rent day, when Belle went into the antique shop with her cheque, she didn’t go up to the counter straight away. She was determined to look around and browse with the proper respect that a lifetime of collecting all in one place deserved. 

Gold was watching her as she moved around the shop taking in the veritable Aladdin’s Cave of treasures there, and occasionally, their eyes would meet. At first he seemed to be in just as much of a foul mood as usual, but the longer that Belle stayed, the more he seemed to become used to her presence and relax in it. When he finally spoke, Belle was so surprised that she startled out of her perusal of a delicate tea set. 

“Do you see something you like the look of? Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he added when Belle jumped. 

To Belle, those few words - spoken in complete earnest, she could tell - were incredibly revealing. He didn’t mean to scare her. All the other times she had been in the shop, something about him had given off a fearmongering aura. Now, he was a little different. As she glanced over at him, she saw that there was a slight shy smile on his face. 

She pointed out the tea set. “This is beautiful.”

He came around the counter and crouched down beside her to open the display cabinet, taking out one of the cups and handing it to her. This was certainly unprecedented. Everything about the shop had a general air of ‘do not touch’ around it, and now Belle was being allowed to handle the goods. 

The bell over the door went, and this time they both jumped, with Belle losing her grip on the cup. Gold’s hands shot out to catch it and ended up cradling hers as she regained her hold. She looked up at him, suddenly aware that she was blushing furiously, and noticing that Gold had gone distinctly pink around the ears as well. 

Belle glanced over her shoulder to see who had come in, finding Hamish standing in the doorway. He was looking rather amused at the scene he’d just interrupted. 

“Can I help you?” Gold asked coolly.

“No, no. As you were.”

Hamish backed out of the door and closed it behind him, leaving Belle and Gold standing in the middle of the shop. The moment had become awkward now thanks to Hamish’s inadvertent intervention. 

“I think you’d better take that back,” Belle said hastily, handing over the cup. “And this.” She put the rent cheque down on the side and almost ran out of the shop, glad to be out in the cold air so that she had an excuse for her flaming cheeks. Oh, this was bad. She definitely wasn’t supposed to be developing a crush on the landlord when she’d set about trying to ingratiate herself with him. Now what was she supposed to do?

X

Ever since Isobel had moved into the police house, she’d extended an open invitation to Gold to join her and Hamish for Sunday lunch, doing her best to give him some familial contact. So far, she’d been incredibly pleased with her efforts. He generally came about once every two months, which was about as much as his introversion could handle. When he came this week, however, Isobel was quite certain that he’d never come again. 

Ever since Hamish had walked in on Gold and Belle’s ‘little moment’ in the antique shop, he’d been determined to matchmake.

“Hamish, you know your cousin better than anyone else in the village, but even I know that he’s not going to welcome you interfering in his love life, no matter how honourable your intentions might be. Besides, you don’t even know that they like each other, let alone want to get to know each other more intimately.”

“Iz, if you had been there, you would know that they definitely like each other. I think ‘smitten’ is the word.”

When Hamish, on learning that Gold would be joining them on Sunday, had suggested inviting Belle as well, Isobel considered putting her foot down for all of ten minutes before she realised that if she did, Hamish would simply resort to more drastic measures to get the two of them in a room together. His enthusiasm was borne out of a simple desire to see his closest relative happy, and all Isobel could do was try to temper him for fear of him doing more harm than good. 

Although she wouldn’t interfere in Hamish and Gold’s relationship more than she already had done by extending the lunch invite in the first place, Isobel felt that it was only fair to let Belle know what she was letting herself in for in accepting Hamish’s invitation. 

On learning that Gold would be present, Belle had just given a little smile, quickly covered it with a cough, and said that it wouldn’t be a problem. 

Reluctantly, Isobel had accepted that maybe there was something in Hamish’s observations. 

Now Sunday was here, and they were all sitting around the table with anticipation hanging heavy in the air. So far, Belle and Gold had been perfectly civil to each other and shown no signs of mutual attraction, and Hamish was thinking of increasingly ridiculous methods of trying to leave them alone together. It was painfully obvious to all parties what he was trying to do, and now he’d dragged Isobel into the kitchen on the pretence of getting her to help make custard.

“Hamish, if you keep this up then neither of them will ever come here again.”

“We have to give them a chance!”

“We’ve given them several chances, now be reasonable. These things don’t happen overnight. Look how long it took us to get together.”

“That was different.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

Whilst this argument was continuing in the kitchen. Belle and Gold were still left to their devices in the other room. Belle couldn’t help continuing to sneak little glances at Gold. She’d been doing it ever since she’d arrived, and sometimes she caught him doing the same. This was one such occasion. He gave a little smile, although it was becoming clear that he was getting increasingly stressed by the whole situation. 

Figuring that conversation was better than awkward silence, Belle decided to start talking. 

“Are they doing this on purpose?”

Gold shook his head. “No. _Hamish_ is doing this on purpose and Isobel is probably giving him grief for it as we speak.”

“I think he just wants us to get to know each other a little better.” Belle inched her chair a little closer around the table. Since she’d been given this opportunity, however contrived, she might as well make use of it. “I mean, I’d like to get to know you better, if I can.”

Gold’s expression was a strange one, part hope and part disbelief. “There’s not much to know,” he mumbled. “Not much good, at least. I’d rather talk about you.”

“If that’s what you want, I’m sure that I can be persuaded, Mr Gold.”

“Please, call me Ciaran. If we’re getting to know each other better then maybe first name terms would be a start.”

“As you wish, Ciaran.”

She didn’t realise how long they continued to talk for, but by the time Hamish, looking somewhat smug, and Isobel, looking somewhat exasperated, returned to the room, the custard was stone cold and had set into a solid lump in the jug, and the apple pie that it was supposed to accompany had burned to a cinder. Isobel got out some ice-cream instead, and the ruined dessert was tactfully not mentioned in the hope of avoiding breaking the proverbial fourth wall that had sprung up around the table and Hamish and Isobel’s prolonged absences from it. Still, conversation seemed to flow much more easily now that Hamish had achieved his goal, and Belle was almost disappointed when the time came for her and Gold to leave. Not too disappointed though. They walked along in the late afternoon sun together until it was time for them to part and go their separate ways to their respective homes. 

“It was nice to get to know you, Ciaran,” she said. “Perhaps we could get to know each other a little better over lunch again. Without an audience, this time.”

Gold smiled, and his ears had gone rather pink again. 

“I would like that very much, Belle.”

“I could bring a picnic to the shop tomorrow?”

“That sounds perfect.”

As they said their goodbyes and continued down their different roads, Belle couldn’t help but grin. It turned out that Hamish’s interference had done the trick after all, and if he was attempting to play matchmaker like this, then he obviously approved of her interest in his cousin. 

Belle couldn’t wait for their next date. 

(But she probably wouldn’t tell Hamish about it.)


End file.
